After you complete your book and are ready to publish, there
are a million things to take care of before the book goes live. One of those things is to write a Press
Release. A press release is a news piece
that is sent to newspapers and online news sources. It details who you are, what your book is
about, and why someone will want to buy your book. Once you have it written, you have to submit
it to different media outlets. The
problem comes when no one picks up your release. You might wonder, “why didn’t they post my
story?” Probably because there are
millions of other authors who are doing exactly the same time, but what can you
do?
Launching a book for a self-published author is an uphill
battle. No one knows you; no one wants
to give your book a chance, because are not backed by a big name publisher, so
sometimes a self-published author has to start small. Yes, you have a submitted your book to
Amazon.com and Smashwords, but they are large sites and you are just one
person. You have to build your own
audience and then drive them to large book sites or you will never succeed, one
way to do that it to start small and focus on your hometown.
Extra Extra Read All
About It - Instead of shooting for the stars and sending your press release
to every major news outlet, start by submitting to your local papers. Every town and community has a few papers
that will run local news articles. Gain the
support of your neighbors and community, while working your major social media
accounts like Facebook and Twitter. The
key to submitting a press release to local media and community sites is to make
the local community care about you, as a person, not a writer, or an author of
the “next great American novel.”
Local Man Does
Something Amazing - Create your press release by talking about yourself
from a community aspect. What makes you
stand out as a person and as a writer?
Talk about your struggles in writing your book. Make the press release interesting to local
readers. This is an opportunity to
humanize yourself and be spotlighted as more than just a writer behind a
keyboard. Mention the book and give a
brief description of it, but think of the rest of the article as a human interest
story. If you already have ties to the
community, then talk about that as well.
People like reading about individuals who have struggled to achieve
something. Find an aspect of your life
than can be highlighted to make people relate to you and care about you. They are more likely to support you by
telling others about you. They may not
read your book, but they will talk about you and help spread your name.
Dear Editor, Please
Post My Story - When submitting your press release to local papers,
remember to be polite to them. Most
local sites don’t have a press release submission procedure, so you will have
to send a general email to them asking them to run your article. They are people in your community, show them
respect. They might not be lead reports
at a huge metro paper, but they are the people you want to be nice to. They have to review your submission and
decide if they will publish it, but they are also members of the community. If they are interested in your article, they
will tell others. If you are disrespectful
and don’t thank them for their time, they will remember it the next time you
ask them to post a news article and may pass on your submission.
In Other News -
Once the local papers have started to accept and publish your article, you will
need to rewrite your press release for the other media outlets. This release will focus on you as a writer
and why someone should read your book, but it will have to appeal to a larger
audience. This is the “go big, or go
home” article. Take the basic elements
of your original article and enhance them to stand out against the millions of
other press releases. Keep in mind that
you must be truthful in your article and don’t over promise something you can’t
deliver. Always make the article
creative, but realistic, and gear it toward your target audience. If you write children’s books, appeal to the
parents who will buy it for their children.
If you write romance novels, appeal to the women and men who love a good
romantic story line. Write your article
for your reader, not the other portion of the population who has no interest in
reading, or who only care about actual live news. Jazz up your release with creative words and interesting
facts about you and your book, but keep it grounded in reality.
Before you start your press release, Google “how to write a
press release” for the basic layout and structure. There are plenty of sites that can help. The release date of the book will need to be
posted at the top, or label it for Immediate Release. Then create a cover letter for the
review sites that only offer an email address for submission and don't forget to attached your book cover and/or author photo. Most of all, have patience in submitting the
press release. Not every news outlet
will post the article for different reasons, so it may have to be submitted
again after some revisions, or during a slower news cycle.
For an example of my “local” press release, click here.
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